President Trump claimed at a press conference Wednesday that he doesn’t know much about the fringe conspiracy theory QAnon, but that he understands its supporters “like me very much” and that they “love America.”
Why it matters: QAnon is a sprawling internet conspiracy theory that baselessly alleges that a powerful cabal of sex traffickers within the “deep state” is engaged in a global fight to take down Trump. The FBI identified fringe conspiracy theories, like QAnon, as domestic terrorist threats in 2019.
- Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vocal supporter of QAnon, won the Republican nomination in Georgia’s deep-red 14th Congressional District runoff last week. Trump tweeted his congratulations and called her a “future Republican Star.”
- Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is one of the few Republicans who have demanded that GOP leaders condemn QAnon now that it has entered the mainstream, with Greene poised to be elected to Congress in November.
What he’s saying: “I don’t know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much. Which I appreciate. But I don’t know much about the movement,” Trump said.
- “I have heard that it is gaining in popularity and from what I hear … these are people that don’t like seeing what’s going on in places like Portland, and places like Chicago and New York and other cities and states.”
- “I’ve heard these are people that love our country and they just don’t like seeing it. So I don’t know really anything about it other than they do supposedly like me and they also would like to see problems in these areas, like especially in the areas that we’re talking about, go away.”
When informed that the crux of the theory is a belief that he is “secretly saving the world from this Satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals,” Trump responded, “Well I haven’t heard that, but is that supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing?”
- “If I can help save the world from problems, I’m willing to do it. I’m willing to put myself out there.”
- “And we are actually. We’re saving the world from a radical left philosophy that will destroy this country, and when this country is gone, the rest of the world would follow.”
The other side: Joe Biden’s campaign released a statement arguing that Trump “is again giving voice to violence” by praising QAnon.
- “After calling neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville ‘fine people’ and tear gassing peaceful protesters following the murder of George Floyd, Donald Trump just sought to legitimize a conspiracy theory that the FBI has identified as a domestic terrorism threat,” campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said.
- “Our country needs leadership that will bring us together more than ever to form a more perfect union. We have to win this battle for the soul of our nation.”
The big picture: QAnon rose out of the 2016 Pizzagate conspiracy theory and has grown into a decentralized network that analyzes cryptic prophecies dropped in remote online forums by “Q,” who claims, without ever offering evidence, to be a Trump administration official with high-level clearance.
- Q maintains President Trump is secretly fighting a child-selling cabal in the U.S., though the conspiracy has spiraled to cover a vast array of claims, from JFK Jr. having faked his death to help Trump behind the scenes to the coronavirus being a hoax or a biological weapon engineered in either case by sinister elites.
Go deeper: How QAnon works like a video game to hook people